Halloween: A Legacy
by ImMyOwnDefender
Summary: "Michael..." She asked in a hoarse croak; would he give any indication that he heard her? "What did...," she paused for a moment, "did my dad do to you...?" She strained her eyes to try and look for his in the holes of the mask he made. What had her father done? "You killed that nurse...years ago, her last name was Wynn...did you...kill my dad too...?" She asked evenly and calmly.
1. The Eyes

**1\. The Eyes**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Halloween or Michael Myers, but I do own Ava Mallory. Halloween belongs to the original creator John Carpenter. This fanfic however follows the events of Rob Zombie's Halloween but with twist that I came up with, and I was inspired to do this to be festive around this time of year. Happy Halloween to all, and be safe out there. I'm only sorry if it doesn't come start out very well, this is a first Halloween fanfic for me, and I've been a fan of the franchise ever since the original one came out, and the remakes did their best to recapture that old nostalgia from the original ones. I should also update most of my fanfics, starting with Supernatural, as well as start posting some new ones.**

 _ **Madison, Wisconsin**_

The door creaked open, and Ava walked into her second story apartment room after her long shift. She had lived alone since her parents' divorce (if they ever really were in the first place), and since she had gone to college part time, while working at the local movie theater to get enough money to try and put herself through school. And on nights like these she was usually exhausted and briefly wondered why she was putting herself through this, after all she was getting financial aid. _'Not like I can live solely on that,'_ Ava thought to herself ruefully, as she set her bag down.

Brushing off any more thoughts on money, she untied her hair and went to check her answering machine – looked like she had 4 messages on the machine.

She pressed the button to listen to them; the first one was from Travis. _'Of course he wants to call again,'_ she thought bitterly, _'probably to make sure that we really are cool, after you dumped me for Shelby.'_

Ava shook her head and quickly deleted the message, and went on to listen to the next one.

It was from her friend, Taylor, who called and left a message to check in on her.

' _Thoughtful.'_ Ava let herself smile, as she set her hair tie down. _'I'll have to remember to call her back. She's probably still camping with her boyfriend, Chad.'_ Taylor Marston had been her best friend since the 6th grade and was there for her ever since her parents' separation and divorce, something that Ava was more than grateful for.

' _At least Travis didn't leave me for my friend, and even Taylor had the thought to turn him down and did. I can't really afford to lose another friend,'_ she thought dryly.

The 20 year old deleted that message as well, and went on to her fourth message; this one was from her mom. _'At least she found the time to call me and leave the message from her tropical cruise,'_ Ava shook her head and decided to make a mental note to call her mom back too, as well as her grandma Rose.

Ava finally got to the last one and it was from someone she hadn't expected to hear from in a while.

Samuel Loomis…

"Hello Miss Mallory," his old crackled voice said over the phone, "This is Samuel Loomis, I don't know if you remember me. But I knew your father, Dr. Terence Wynn," Dr. Loomis's voice trailed off, and Ava felt her insides grow still at the mention of her father. "I am calling to let you know that he has passed and I am very sorry for your loss. I am calling to let you know that he has left some things of importance in his office and I was hoping that you could return the call after hearing this message as soon as possible," Dr. Loomis said and the message clicked off, leaving Ava to stare at the machine in a daze.

Her father…? Dead?

Ava could conjure up a few images of her dad. Terence Wynn was a man driven, who lived for his work and his own ambition, and in the end his own drive is what killed him probably, as Ava would have probably guessed. The young woman could only wonder if her mom knew yet, though Ava knew that was unlikely – after her parents' divorce, Lana Mallory had made it a point to cut off all contact with Terence Wynn, and years after the divorce, Ava had as well.

After some thinking, Ava decided to go make herself some dinner in her small kitchenette, and while her pasta was heating up, she decided to make the call to Loomis.

Picking up the phone, she dialed the number that Loomis had left for her, and pressed it against her ear, as it rang. There was the click and Ava heard a crackling voice, "Hello?" Ava licked her lips and spoke up, "Mr. Loomis? You called earlier."

She could hear her own voice, and it sounded nervous but controlled, "It's Ava Mallory, you called about my father," she was certain that she was rambling now.

"Oh yes, Miss Mallory, thank you for calling me back, I am very sorry for your lo-," it wasn't in Ava's mood to be rude enough to cut someone off especially if they were her senior, but she didn't feel up for condolences, "Thank you Mr. Loomis, but I'd appreciate it if you could tell me exactly what happened," she stated firmly.

"Ah yes, I'm sorry, yes," Loomis trailed off and Ava waited patiently, not wanting to rush the man, "Your father suffered a heart attack in his sleep and was found in his office the next morning," Loomis informed her.

Ava sauntered to her couch and sat down slowly, "That's shocking…" she murmured, _'Who knew he had a heart.'_

"Yes, and I am sorry for your loss," Loomis consoled sympathetically.

The young woman cleared her throat and looked around her small living room, "You said something about his office in your message," she asked slowly.

"Oh ah, yes, he has some items that he had left in his office and seeing as how you are the closest he had to family, I had hoped that you could come by and pick up some of his things," Loomis suggested.

Going back to that place was the last thing, Ava ever expected to do in her life, she had only been there once and that was to visit her dad at his work and to spend some time with him.

"Miss Mallory? Miss Mallory," Loomis asked, "Are you there?"

Ava came back to herself, and sniffed, "Yeah I'm here, sorry, just a bit surprised," she muttered.

"Ah I thought the call was dropped," Loomis explained.

"No I'm still here," Ava sighed, "When would be a good time to come by and pick up his stuff," she asked running a free hand through her dark brown hair.

"Anytime, but the sooner the better," Loomis answered, "Perhaps this weekend if possible," he asked.

Ava bit her bottom lip and sighed, "Maybe, I might come by sooner because of the funeral," she murmured, _'Someone has to bury him, and since his sister died before him too.'_

"Ah yes of course," Loomis agreed with her, "His body is still in the morgue waiting to be collected and treated to a proper service."

Ava nodded, "Okay, I'll be there, I just need to ask for some time off," she said quietly, "Goodnight and see you then Mr. Loomis," she hung up before he had a chance to answer dropped the phone on the couch, and only to want to be alone with her thoughts.

She sat on her couch and stared at the wall above her television, as she rested the backs of her hands against her head, as a way to calm herself. Ava still couldn't get over it; her father had just passed and she was expected to pay for his funeral and be a mourner there, and then come and pick up his stuff from his office. After hearing all of this, and the day she had, all the young woman wanted to do was eat her dinner and just crawl into bed. She would have to call her boss and let her professors know that she was going to be absent from her classes.

The smell of noodles assaulted her senses, breaking her from her reverie, so she stood up and went to turn the stove off, and opened the top cupboards to get herself a bowl.

She poured herself some pasta and turned on the T.V and started to eat quietly as she settled for watching the weather channel instead. As she finished eating she went to wash her bowl and put it in the dryer, and turned off her T.V and went to change into her . Good thing, today was exhausting, otherwise she probably wouldn't be able to fall asleep so fast, which she did, the minute her head hit the pillow.

 _The Next Morning…_

Once morning arrived it was a rapid blur, that Ava didn't even register eating, then dressing in a pair of jeans a gray long sleeved shirt and a brown rain jacket in case, making several calls to her boss and professors, and packing up some of her essentials and piling them into her car, while mentally preparing herself for the 3 to 4 hour drive to Warren County, Illinois – good thing she made sure to bring coffee.

A quirk, Ava had developed while driving, is always letting her mind go blank as she stared at the road ahead; this technique was a good way to pass the time, well either that or listening to some mindless song playing on the radio.

She didn't realize it until she saw the sign that she was finally in Warren County, and started to approach Smith's Grove Sanitarium. The parking lot was near empty in the visitor's section, since it was a Sunday – Ava doubted anyone would want to come here on a weekend.

Stopping the car, she took a deep breath and got out, pocketing her keys, once she made sure it was locked; she would have to see where she could stay for the time being.

She walked up to the main entrance and the first thing she noticed was how white the room was and with the windows it all looked like it was glowing.

The brunette looked around and slowly trekked through the white entrance room until she noticed the reference desk, and approached it. _'Thank god there's someone here at least,'_ she thought to herself seeing a middle aged secretary there, "Excuse me," She had brown shoulder length hair and brow eyes, Ava noticed as the older woman looked up, "Yes can I help you dear?"

"I'm Ava Mallory, I'm here to see Dr. Loomis," Ava explained with inflection.

"Do you have an appointment?" the receptionist asked.

"No I'm not a patient. I'm here about my father? Terence Wynn?" Ava clarified, raising her dark brows.

The woman blinked and drew back, "Oh of course, Dr. Loomis said something about Dr. Wynn's daughter coming by to pick up his stuff," she gave her a sympathetic look, "I am so sorry by the way about your father," she offered her condolences, "He was a brilliant man."

Ava smiled artificially and faintly, nodding her thanks, refraining to say anything harsh, _'Not exactly the best father though,'_ she added mentally, "Thank you. If you could please take me to Dr. Loomis now," she asked.

The lady nodded, "Oh of course. Right this way," she stood up from her chair, "I'm Jennifer Hill by the way, in case you need anything," she said to her kindly.

Ava hummed, "Thanks again. I appreciate it," she noted as she followed after her.

All the walls seemed the same to her, she couldn't help but observe, with the occasional stray framed picture, or photograph or notice on the wall.

They walked through a hallway, and to a green walled waiting room, "He's in a session right now, would you like to wait, or we can go in and I can tell him that you're here," Jennifer offered to her.

Ava thought it over – if he was with a patient, then maybe she didn't want to be rude and interrupt, but she didn't want to stay here too long.

And maybe she would be doing this patient a favor by cutting their session short, if Dr. Loomis was anything like her father. "I'd hate to be rude but I don't want to overstay my welcome so I wanna let him know that I'm here," Ava answered with a thin smile.

Jennifer nodded and she reached for the door, opening it, "Dr. Loomis?"

Ava stared at the two figures sitting at a table across from one another; it was an elderly man with white hair and moustache and an aging face, and by the clipboard in front of him, she could only assume that this was Dr. Loomis.

Her eyes drifted to the second one and she paused her eyes slowly widening – the man sitting across the elderly one was a…giant – all muscle and a tall stature, as well as a paper mache mask, surrounded by long thick tendrils of messy dark blond-brown hair.

"Yes what is it? I'm in the middle of a session now with Michael," Dr. Loomis griped in a highly angry tone.

"Sorry but Ava Mallory is here," Jennifer explained, "She's here about her father, Dr. Wynn," she added quickly.

Dr. Loomis looked unhappy at being interrupted, then glanced at Ava, his eyes were a sharp blue, she noticed this as well, "Very well. Jennifer call in Ismael, and have him escort Michael to dinner then to his room," he ordered.

"Yes sir," Jennifer answered and left the room, leaving the three of them alone now.

Ava looked at Dr. Loomis and stared at him, "I'm sorry for the interruption," she said simply but offered no reason behind it.

"It's alright. I understand that it was your father after all," Dr. Loomis admitted, and Ava internally groaned, _'Great, another condolence,'_ she wondered to herself, then glanced at the man, Loomis had called Michael, "I uh…," she felt her voice catch in her throat, "I hope he doesn't mind," she finished.

Loomis sighed and shook his head, "He doesn't show signs of it bothering him. After all not like he'll say anything. He hasn't said a word in 15 years," he stated.

And Ava glanced at Michael again, and she now noticed he was staring back at her, from the eyeholes of his mask. Ava could vaguely make out his eyes, and now his stature was not the only things she noticed about him.

It was the eyes. She was sure of it now, that they were completely dark.


	2. The White Room

**2\. The White Room**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own the Halloween franchise or Michael Myers, and I apologize for the first chapter if it fell a little flat, as I said it is a first time. I had this idea in my head for a month and felt like getting it out there. I thought of going with the Rob Zombie movie version instead, though with that being said this version respectively belongs to Rob Zombie, and the franchise itself belongs to John Carpenter. Happy Halloween everybody.**

 _ **Smith's Grove Sanitarium, Warren County**_

Ava didn't know how long she was staring at the large, muscled man, named Michael, and she didn't even register the fact that he was staring back at her too. "Miss Mallory," Dr. Loomis hollered raising his voice, breaking her from her thoughts, "Sorry…Dr. Loomis. I was just…" She glanced back at Michael, noticing that he was still staring at her.

Ava shifted uncomfortably but tried to play it off as tired, as Michael stared her down through his mask, "I'm sorry…for staring," she says to him. Michael just continued on staring then cocked his head to the side slowly as if she just said some kind of riddle.

Loomis sniffed quietly, "I wouldn't bother talking to him," he said, "He hasn't spoken since he was 10."

And Ava found the statement more of an insult, rather than an explanation. _'Probably cause it serves to remind you of my dear old daddy and his own condescending remarks?'_

The brunette looked back at Loomis, "Maybe no one bothered to talk to him without psychoanalyzing him before," Ava said tightly. Loomis gave her a disgruntled look, "You're here to pick up your father's personal effects?" He switched subjects, as the muscle in his face twitched. Ava doubted that he expected a snarky college student telling him how to do his job, not that she was but she could tell that she must have annoyed him but stood her ground, raising her chin stubbornly, "I am."

She heard a shuffling at the side and it came from where Michael was sitting, and she glanced over at him noticing that he was still staring at her from behind his mask.

Dr. Loomis nodded, "Very well then, I shall go and get the keys to his office. Please wait here," he said to her as he got up and headed for the door. Ava froze at that, and quickly glanced at the big giant masked man seated on the chair, "You want me to wait here," Ava asked.

The older man glanced at her and nodded, "Yes but I wouldn't worry, he will not do anything. He's in chains, and there's security outside of the door. You will be perfectly safe."

The young woman nodded, "Okay," she agreed quietly. She didn't want to give Michael the impression that she was nervous about being left alone with him, so she kept her voice low to disguise the nervousness in her voice.

Regardless if humans could smell fear or not, like animals could, they could certainly hear it.

And now Ava could only hope that he didn't hear it in her own voice, like she just did.

She vaguely heard the door shut behind her. Dr. Loomis had just left the room, leaving her with this large masked stranger. Ava stood in her spot awkwardly, and chanced a glance to see Michael still staring at her; she wondered if he was even blinking underneath that mask of his. The brunette really couldn't tell from where she was standing, but what she could tell was that he was absolutely still, almost like a statue. The 20 year old had to admit, that did impress her. This guy had patience that was for sure.

Ava shifted from one foot to the other, feeling herself get a bit tired, the only seat available was Dr. Loomis's…right across from Michael.

Playing subtly with the hem of her jacket, she swallowed, twiddling her fingers, "…"

Michael was still looking at her, and it was starting to unnerve her.

Ava shifted restlessly again, not used to this much quiet, she spoke up, "Would it be okay if I sit down," she asked him self consciously, not really sure why she was asking this mental patient of all people.

But God only knows, what this man could be like, underneath that quiet, and she didn't want to offend him or make an enemy of him, especially if she didn't know what could set him off.

And her grandma's lesson about being kind to all people, and treating them well, seeped into her head in reminder.

Michael cocked his head to the side again with interest – Ava wasn't sure if that was a yes or a no, but cautiously took a step ahead.

To her surprise he finally looked away from her and glanced at the seat across from him.

That was more of a response than a cock of the head, so Ava decided to risk it, and take it as an affirmative gesture, "Thank you," she said politely. She slowly and steadily moved closer and sat down in Loomis's seat across from Michael. Her words always went unanswered, and it made Ava feel like she was talking to herself. She once again risked a glance to look up at him, and sure enough he was looking down at her from behind the eyeholes of his mask, and it only occurred to her now, how close he was to her now. If he didn't have chains on him now, he could reach out to grab her easily. Once again the silence was deafening and weighed heavily on one of them. Michael didn't seem to be too bothered by the quiet. From this encounter, Ava could easily tell that he preferred the silence. She shifted in her seat this time, and looked down at her lap, staring at her folded hands now, and bit her lip quietly then before she even realized it, words poured from her lips, "It's nice to meet you…"

Reeling back at that, she couldn't believe that came out of her mouth just now, but it was probably just out of habit, or manners, Ava surmised.

She glanced at him again and noticed that he was still staring down at her; for some unknown reason, Ava wanted to see his eyes, or at least something more in his eyes than just blackness. Now she found herself wondering, if this man had ever had a normal interaction with anyone in the past, before, or if he had ever spoken in the past, or if he was always this silent?

Ava stared at him, taking in his appearance; he was certainly not like any regular looking man she had seen before. If he stood up from that chair, he would tower over her and overpower her easily, she'd wager. Hell he'd probably have no problem taking on an average man. He had dark sandy dirty blond hair that seemed to lightly touch his shoulders, and obscure the paper-mache mask on his face. He had broad shoulders, long thick muscled arms, and overall just looked intimidating and powerful, with what her mom would have described as a boxer or a wrestler's build. As she had realized before, he was a giant. Now she could only wonder what he looked like underneath the mask and beneath those long strands of hair.

The door opened breaking her from her reverie, "Sorry I took so long," Dr. Loomis had returned with a set of keys.

He stopped talking when he realized what he was seeing. "Miss Mallory, what are you doing?" He asked incredulously and wide eyed.

Ava raised her brows, "Sitting down. Why," she voiced bluntly.

Loomis stared at her, "Michael's never been one to let anyone near him, or interacted with strangers," he said in surprise drawing closer to him.

The brunette eyed him then glanced at Michael, who remained a still like a statue and was of course still facing her…or from what she could tell, where his head was facing at least.

She shrugged, "Well, I asked him if it was okay if I sit down, and he let me know it was okay," she said nonchalantly.

This seemed to throw him for a loop, "Michael talked," he asked, his voice rising slightly.

Ava blinked in mild surprise, "No. He just…let me know it was okay to sit down," she explained faintly.

Loomis was now staring at her with raised brows and he seemed to deflate a bit, "How," he asked, and suddenly it felt like to Ava, he was grasping at straws.

The young woman lifted her hand and scratched the back of her head lightly, "He just…after I asked if it was okay, he just kind of looked at the seat across from him. Your seat," she admitted, "I guess I took that as an OK and as an invitation," she said, as she eyed the doctor and noticed something in his hands.

Those must have been the keys to her father's office, she quickly realized, and she was right as Loomis cleared his throat, "Ah, I see…very well then," he seemed to be put off, "Anyways…these are a set of keys to your father's office and desk," he said distractedly.

She nodded, "Thank you…is everything all packed or will I need a box," she asked getting up from the chair, and taking a few steps ahead.

"Most of it is just some files, and that's packed away into a folder, but a lot of it you'll need a box for," he answered her, moving forward to offer her the keys.

Ava nodded a thank you as she took the keys into her hands and was about to walk away, "What room is it?" She asked.

"No need to trouble yourself, Zach will you show where it is," Loomis waved off her question.

The sable haired girl honestly wondered if, Loomis was just eager to get rid of her so that he could get back to his session. At this thought she felt annoyance pinch at her sides – he was the one who called and asked her to come and pick up her father's personal affects and take care of the arrangements, and now he was quick to get rid of her?

"Thank you, Dr. Loomis, I can honestly say, thank you for calling me last night, and persuading me to come here, to pick up my estranged father's things. I didn't mean to come on a busy day," Ava said disguising the mock in her tone.

Loomis's head snapped at her in surprise. _Oh so he caught that,_ she mused to herself with a sarcastic curve of her lip forming a slightly cynical half smile.

The door opened again and revealed a middle aged white guy, with brown hair that was starting to gray, a beard and moustache, and friendly crinkling brown gray eyes. Ava assumed that this was the Zach, Dr. Loomis had mentioned earlier, who would be escorting her.

"Miss Mallory this is Zach Garrett. Zach this is Miss Ava Mallory. She's here to see to any arrangements of her father's," Sam Loomis introduced the two.

Ava shook hands with Zach, muttering a nice to meet you, and he nodded at her, giving her a pleasant smile.

"Thanks for doing this and for holding onto my father's things," she glanced back at Loomis, "I'll just take care of some things, pack up my dad's things and…get out of your hair," she said, acknowledging how rude she had been earlier.

Sam nodded, "Of course, thank you for taking the time to come, and have a safe trip back home in case I don't see you again," he said to her giving her a smile.

"Of course, goodbye in advance Dr. Loomis," Ava said pleasantly and reached out to shake his hand.

She then turned to Michael and nodded, "Bye Michael. It was nice…meeting you," she gave him a halfhearted attempt at a smile.

Michael was staring up at her, and she knew she wouldn't get a response out of him so she just turned to walk away.

What had happened next was a blur; Ava felt a tight bruising pressure on her arm that yanked her back causing her to let out a light yelp. She felt a slight ringing in her ears, and then she heard shouting. She could make out Dr. Loomis's voice, and then the security guard's. The young woman turned her head back around and her eyes widened, and she was sure that she had paled when she saw her arm in Michael's large and firm grasp. His grip was tightening and it made her gasp and wince, in that moment she thought he was trying to break it. But she didn't hear the crack, that she was dreading would come. She had broken her arm once before, when she tried riding a two-wheel bike for the first time, and ended up falling off and landing on cold hard cement. She hadn't landed right and had ended up breaking it. But the break didn't come, or hadn't had the chance to yet, instead his grip seemed to be determined to root her in place. Ava lifted her gaze to his masked face, and three things had occurred to her – the distance between them wasn't that big, the chains weren't short but they weren't long either, he could have easily reached from across the table to grab at her, and even if he couldn't those chains would never hold him. The second thing was, she didn't realize how close she was standing to him, though she supposed tied more into the first thing. And the third, was how close she was to him, that she could actually see into the eyeholes of his mask and caught a glimpse of his eyes. There was the glittering and hardening of a raging storm about to surface, and she felt everything inside her freezing.

"Michael! What the hell are you doing? Let her go right now," She heard Dr. Loomis shouting his name as he rushed forward to grab onto Michael's shoulder, with the security guard behind him and reaching for his weapon.

Ava felt her throat constricting, only letting out a choked out noise, between a grunt, and a yelp, as Michael's grip was unrelenting and seemed to jerk her towards him firmly.

The door opened again and another security man rushed with others following behind him, making Ava's head whip around to look at the other arrivals; he had long hair tied back, a thick mustache, was wearing a baseball cap backwards, with glasses and appeared to be of Hispanic descent, from what she could tell.

"Mikey, it's okay, it's me," the guard said rushing to him to touch his shoulder, "It's okay. You're okay," he said to him, "Let her go," he said gently.

Ava was sure that if he had tightened his hand any harder, her hand would have turned blue and eventually her arm would snap, but thankfully that hadn't happened. There was only a pause and hesitation followed, and this gave her the idea to follow the guard's example.

Bravely she turned to face him again, "Michael," she said hoarsely and quietly but nonetheless got his attention, "Please, it's alright. I'm…I'm a friend. You can let go of my arm," she asked him hopefully.

He didn't let go of her, but his grip did seem to let up, and she knew it was working, so she continued on another tactic.

"Okay that's good, thank you," she said to him, with what she hoped was a sweet and calm tone, "You…want a friend? Is that it," Ava asked him, "I can be your friend," she said to him carefully, "You know why? Cause you didn't hurt me, when it just you and me here," she continued to talk him down hoping she was reaching him, "And that makes you a very nice person."

The girl could feel eyes on her, and a few of the guards going for their weapons, and she raised her free hand to try and stop them.

This man didn't deserve to get punished just for simply grabbing her arm, he was still a patient who needed some form of help, and just didn't know his own strength. If Ava was being honest, she'd feel bad if anyone got hurt over her.

The guard by her side, which she took a quick look at his nametag and identified him as Ismael, who had referred to Michael as Mikey, got the message and urged them to stand down, "Back up. He's not hurtin' her," he said, "Just give it a minute," he urged them.

They reluctantly did as suggested, though many were still tense, and Loomis more so due to what was happening. He was looking from Michael to Ava, and assessing the situation; for years he had tried to reach Michael, and aside from him killing that one nurse, when he was a child, this was a rather strange and very random reaction and response to a stranger. When he had left to go fetch the keys for Ava Mallory, he had half-hoped that perhaps something would happen, after he had noticed Michael stare at her so intently. But he didn't think that it would be this sort of reaction, he had hoped that Michael would start talking, but nothing like this. That was a reaction that no one had ever incited from him ever – Michael had been known to spare an attempted glance at newcomers but that was it, refusing to acknowledge anyone.

"So please let go of my arm," Ava pleaded carefully, "I just need to clean…then I'll come back, and you still need to get your food," she said to him, "While you eat, I'll clean up, then I'll come back to you okay?" She offered to him reasonably.

He was staring at her, his eyes glittering sharply, but it seemed like he was weighing this offer.

She could see that he was starting to loosen up, "Please Michael. Is that what you want? A friend? I can be your friend. You're a good person. I promise I won't leave," Ava whispered to him gently, trying to keep the panic out of her voice, or she hoped she didn't sound panicked or nervous. Regardless whether humans could smell fear or not, they could certainly hear it.

Michael gazed at her, and slowly released her arm and that was when the guards rushed forward with Ismael trying to calm them down and careful secure the chains around his wrists.

Ava felt a hand take her and push her away from Michael and guide her out.

She looked up and saw that it was Dr. Loomis guiding her out of the room with Zach walking behind them.

The young woman clutched her arm to her chest, feeling certain that it was bruised now.

"Are you alright Miss Mallory," she heard Dr. Loomis ask her.

Ava rubbed her arm quietly, "Yeah…yeah. It was just a surprise that's all," she murmured dazedly, "I just wasn't expecting that," she rubbed her arm and felt ridges of the keys in her hand reminding her what she wanted to do originally.

"Believe me Ava, neither was I," Loomis scoffed rubbing the back of his head in disbelief, "None of us were. For the longest time I have known Michael. He has never shown any sort of fixation or interest outside of himself, his family or his masks. The only other person he listens to or acknowledges is Ismael," he explained, "But that was not what I was expecting to happen. I haven't been able to get a word out of him since he was 11," he said flatly.

She glanced at him, "He's never done anything like that before," she asked lowly in a husky voice.

Dr. Loomis shook his head, "No. He never reached out to anyone like that before," he murmured in thought, and then grew quiet, "Miss Mallory?"

The college student glanced at him, "Yes, Dr. Loomis?"

"After you've collected your father's things, would you be interested in joining me for lunch at the cafeteria," Loomis asked her, "There is something I would like to propose to you, and I hope that you will be interested in hearing it," he stated professionally.

Ava bit the inside of her cheek but nodded, as she fingered the keys, "Okay…" she consented.

Samuel Loomis smiled in satisfaction, which Ava wasn't all too sure she liked, but only inwardly shook her head at the feeling. She was just on edge after all of that excitement; she honestly didn't know why all of a sudden Michael had reached out to her and refused to let her go. Now more than ever she really wanted to just go to her father's office and get this over with, along with anything Dr. Loomis had to offer, and be far away from here.

"Just take me to my dad's office please," Ava said indifferently.

She heard Dr. Loomis give the security guard, Zach instructions, and told her that he would meet her in the cafeteria, with Zach to show her the way. Loomis left them, going down the hallway in another direction, probably to his own office, before he joined Michael again. And honestly she didn't blame him for wanting a break after dealing with someone as stealthy and intense and quiet as Michael.

Now it just left her with Zach leading her to her father's office. They fell into a long and pregnant silence, and honestly after everything, Ava didn't mind in the least bit.

Though it seemed like Zach was a bit uneasy, so he decided to break it, "That was a brave thing you did," he commented.

Ava hummed at that, "Thanks. It really was nothing. Not a big deal," she said quietly.

The older man scoffed, "Oh believe me it was. Not everyone can get him to calm down like that except for good ole' Ismael," Zach pointed out.

She nodded humming again, recalling Ismael as the one guard who helped her with Michael and kept the other guards from making things worse, "I'll have to remember to thank him the next time I see him," she murmured.

Zach nodded snorting lightly, "Yeah, a lot of us here owe Ismael a thanks for getting through that big guy, we were barely able to reach him the last time he went on an episode, it took two guards to restrain him," said shuddering as he remembered the day.

The brunette nodded slowly, releasing a quiet shaky breath, "What happened?" She spared Zach a sideways glance.

"Michael had killed a nurse with a fork, and that was almost 15 years ago," Zach recalled, "Nice lady too. Her name was…huh," his voice trailed off gravelly, "You know what? I don't remember. I remember her last name though. It was Wynn too. I think she was related to Dr. Wynn."

Ava felt her feet stop at that and her heart skip a beat; her father had a sister, she remembered. A woman with orange strawberry blond hair, brown eyes, a friendly smile and a little mouth with stern and pursing lips, a spare upper lip and a full bottom lip. She was a woman, who enjoyed reading horoscopes, and was obsessed with astrology and knew all of the constellations by heart. "Effie," Ava murmured lowly.

"What's wrong?" Zach asked noticing she had stopped walking.

Ava shook her head, "Nothing," she muttered, making a mental note to ask Dr. Loomis when they were alone, incident of the murdered nurse.

They lapsed into silence and it seemed like it was just in time as they reached her father's office, and Ava took the keeps and unlocked the door. She turned to Zach and smiled faintly, "Thank you, Mr. Garrett," she said politely.

He smiled back at her, "Don't mention it, Miss Ava, call me Zach," he said, "I'm gonna go on break, but I'll be right back and take you to the cafeteria," he let her know.

She nodded and thanked him again and watched as he left her to her devices.

The young woman turned the key and pushed the door open and took a deep breath as she looked around. It was dark with the blinds drawn down and closed – Ava wracked in her brain, trying to recall if she had been there before. She had been in her father's study once, back when her parents were together, she would always remember trying to get her father to spend time with her, only to be ushered out because he claimed to be busy. Ava glanced at a brown leather armchair behind the desk, and a memory flooded before her eyes. Her father would sit in that chair and then have her sit in his lap and they would be looking over a book; some fairytale book that he would read to her. As the memory flickered away, Ava shook it off and glanced at the bookshelf behind the desk and the chair, it was a tall bookshelf with 6 shelves. If she got anything from her father, it was an enjoyment for reading and her love for books. Her father had told her that his family came from Ireland so he'd tell her folktales from there, including about the Celtics and their ways. He'd proudly claim how they descended from them and that it was some sort of pagan tribe that had to do with a plant…or the one of the constellations.

Ava couldn't recall the name at all right now. But she knew that her father would tell her the story every night.

She looked around the dim room and saw a box with case folders in it – figures he'd want his work to be boxed away and to be studied by other future psychiatrists to study, then maybe one of them could diagnose her own father, and figure out what drove him mad.

Shaking her head, the brunette turned back to look at the bookshelf and sauntered towards it, smiling a little as she spotted a book with what looked to be a triangle on the binding along with the words, _**Family History & Practices**_ on the cover. Blinking slowly she reached up and pulled the book out. She knew how much Terence Wynn had stressed on the importance of their family history; he'd claim that they were descended from royalty. Being young and only 5, she asked her father if that meant that she was a princess, to which he'd laugh and say that yes she was. Feeling a smile stretch across her lips, Ava could admit to herself that she and her father did have some good times, even if they were short, few and rare.

"Yeah right dad. If we were royalty, I'd be sitting on England's throne right now," she muttered under her breath sarcastically and humorously and looked around, wondering if her dad had a hidden liquor stash around here somewhere.

She had a feeling that in order to go through this and get through her father's life's work, she'd need a drink…

 _Meanwhile_

He didn't think much of her at first, if he could be honest with himself. He knew that she was the daughter of the doctor who had died recently, and really didn't know how to respond to that. He had lost his father too. It had a bad effect on everyone in his family especially him. She was pretty, and attractive, but something in her reminded him of his older sister, Judith, and Michael instantly hated that, and he looked at her long and hard to find any more similarities to Judith. He was surprised to be proven wrong. She and Judith were miles apart, and couldn't be more different – they both had dark brown hair, with Ava's being a shade darker, and the eye color was different as well. Judith was loud, obnoxious and had no shame at all, whereas Ava seemed very nice. When he had grabbed at her, he expected her to scream and yell obscenities at him and struggle away from him, but instead she just froze and was as surprised he had been to how she had handled the situation later. She had calmed down, and spoke to him calmly and gently, saying only good things about him. Things only his mother had said to him when she had been alive…

That was it right there, Ava reminded him of his mother, Deborah Myers.

Now more than ever, Michael felt something in him crave the company of another, a friend, as Ava had put it. He hadn't had a lot of friends growing up.

Honestly he didn't know what made him grab onto her like that without doing serious harm to her, but all Michael could gather was that she spoke to him like a person and he liked that, and she polite, and she didn't try to force him to talk to her, which he liked even more. He was pleased that he got her up close to him too; she smelled like vanilla and something fruity, apples, or maybe peaches…? He couldn't recall, but whatever it was, he liked it.

Loomis had scolded him for what he had done, but at least he didn't get physical punishment since Ismael pleaded his case and talked them out of it, then he had taken him to get his evening meal all the while making some small talk here and there.

He commented on how he had made a new friend.

Other than Loomis, Ismael Cruz had been the only other person, Michael had accepted and let near him without any harm. And now there was a third person.

Michael was glad he was wearing his mask so that they wouldn't see the little twitch of a smile at the corners of his lips. He hoped that she would be done with whatever she came to do, and come and join him again…and Loomis.

But as always he had patience. The Shape was always patient.

 _Back at Dr. Wynn's office_

Well, she couldn't find her dad's secret stash, but she was able to look through some of his old case files. If she had pursued psychology as a major then she would see it all as interesting, or even nursing as a career. It listed Michael and several other patients' files in his case compilation box. Then there was a bizarre star chart with all the constellations named and what times of the year they would show, and a pagan calendar. Ava had no idea that her father's obsession with this…hobby had leaked into his work that much, though she wondered if it affected it, and his patients, and couldn't help but pity them.

She had placed all of the papers back in the files she found them in, packing some old photo albums, and some of other books she knew her father treasured. For them, she had to get a second box, and have some help getting it to her car.

Ava heard a knock at the door and decided she would look at the rest later when she'd pack it all and get home.

True to Zach's word, he had returned for her in an hour to show her to the cafeteria, the walk there was surprisingly short considering how big this place seemed. They had made it there, and she instantly spotted Michael, and Dr. Loomis present with him as well.

The cafeteria was a sterile white with blue borders on it. The room was blindingly white as where she had first met him.

It all looked the same to her.

She hesitated at first, but saw two guards posted at the door's entrance, and made her way to them, "Didn't mean to keep you both waiting," Ava said courteously. "Hello again Dr. Loomis," she greeted the older man, then glanced at Michael, "Hello…Michael," she nodded to him, and noticed that he had lifted his head and she could already guess was staring in her direction.

"It's quite alright, we didn't wait long," Loomis brushed off her words, "Please have a seat, Ava." The girl did as he instructed sitting down across from them, "What did you want to see me about," she asked him patiently.

Dr. Loomis cleared his throat and began, "As you are well aware, Michael is…different. He has always been withdrawn and refused to connect with anyone, save for myself and his caretaker," he referred to Ismael.

Ava gazed at him but nodded slowly, signaling that she understood so far, and was willing for him to go on at the same time, so he did, "But today is the first time I had ever seen him initiate any sort of contact with…any individual, and a complete and utter stranger at that," Loomis said incredulously, "To my knowledge he has never done such a thing until today" he said to her. The dark haired girl frowned delicately, "I'm…I'm sorry…?" She murmured uncertainly.

"No, no don't apologize," Dr. Loomis shook his head vigorously, "It isn't your fault. It was exactly what I had hoped for. Granted I didn't think he would grab hold of you like that. Staring is one thing, but for him to do that was…unusual. I don't know what you did while I was gone, but I have a proposition for you," Loomis stated.

Ava nodded again, "Yeah, that's what I wanted to know about as well," she said, hoping she didn't sound too impatient. She spared Michael a quick glance – was he okay with Dr. Loomis talking about him in front of him like he wasn't here?

She wouldn't be.

The older psychiatrist smiled at her thinly, "I would like you to stay, and work with Michael," he offered, eying her for her reaction.

And just like that Ava wished she had something to drink, and black out, just to get out of this pale white room.


	3. Behind the Mask

**3\. Behind the Mask**

 _ **Disclaimer: I do not own Halloween it belongs to John Carpenter and this one in particular to Rob Zombie. I do own Ava Mallory and her family though. And also I apologize if this chapter seems to be rushed through and kind of choppy, I had laptop issues and forgot to save some parts and so I had to re-type most of this chapter. But as another disclaimer this chapter will be split up into two parts.**_

Ava wasn't sure how long she was staring at Dr. Loomis and Michael, but hearing the doctor clear his throat brought her back to reality, "Come again?" She asked lamely.

Dr. Loomis stared at her, "I want you to stay here and help with Michael," he said to her.

The young woman stared back at him, "I…don't know how that'll be possible or even work," she replied, "And I have work and school," she added. She couldn't afford to miss any of those things, though she wasn't looking forward on returning back to her social life exactly.

The psychiatrist cleared his throat at that, "We can work around that. I'll contact your employer, and explain the situation to him, as for school, I'm sure you can work something out with your professors," he reasoned.

The whole time Michael simply sat there mutely; whether he was watching them through the eyeholes of his mask, Ava could only wonder, "And why exactly should I do this Dr. Loomis," she asked him, not taking her eyes off Michael, "And more to the point what's the guarantee that I'll…be covered for this," she asked vaguely, not wanting for Michael to hear that she was afraid of him hurting her, for fear of setting him off. It was good thing Loomis was smart enough to read between the lines, "Believe me if there wasn't a guarantee you wouldn't be standing here right now," Loomis said bluntly, "And the reason why you should is for the reason of changing and improving an individual's life, helping me as well, by reaching him, and it could be for Michael's own good really. He might not ever be released but if could speak again then that would also be a decided improvement. And seeing as how he hasn't uttered a word in 15 years, this would be a good change, and he may just be what he needed. Outside interaction and socializing," Sam Loomis explained.

Ava took a deep breath at that, inhaling sharply, and slowly exhaling, "…Would that be something he would want," she asked, looking back at Michael.

"Want and need," the older man corrected her.

The 20 year old glanced at Loomis and then regarded Michael briefly, weighing her options carefully.

He did make valid points; she could work something out with her boss, and ask her professors if she could send them the work and get notes from fellow classmates, and there was nothing going on in her social life, more to the point, nothing she wanted to go back to anyway.

"How long do you think this will take," Ava asked Loomis, "An estimate," she asked again.

Loomis straightened his back as his face pinched itself in thought, "Approximately? Hard to say, but an estimate, give or take a year perhaps, and that's me being optimistic," he managed a rueful smile.

Ava returned the smile, also feeling that she might regret this, "Optimism is needed," she pointed out, "Alright…fine. But I'm not staying in a crappy motel overnight."

And she still needed to see to her father's funeral arrangements while here, and get his affairs in order.

Loomis grinned at her, "You can stay in your father's office. Thank you Miss Mallory, you won't regret this."

Ava's smiling lips twitched and she struggled to not have the smile harden, until she caught Michael's face in her direction – she felt like she already was.

The following days were confusing to say the least…Ava had taken care of funeral arrangements for her father, and gotten his affairs in order. Afterwards, her time, as promised, was devoted to getting to know Michael – that last endeavor was easier said than done. He was silent as always, mostly watching her (though with his mask and long hair in the way, Ava really couldn't tell), or looking down. They would have breakfast, lunch and dinner together, but the only time she wasn't with him was during personal moments, like showers or bathroom breaks, and of course therapy sessions with Loomis. As agreed upon, Ava didn't want to waste money on a motel room per night, so she stayed in her father's office, sleeping on his couch. Despite sleeping in a mental institution, it wasn't completely horrible; the couch wasn't too bad, and there were plenty of books in her father's office to read, most of them being non-fiction books, either scientific or historical ones.

Her boss had been less than thrilled about her excuse from work, but only told her that it would be once. The most flack came from her friend, Taylor, and her mom, Lana; the phone call was one that Ava had dreaded.

"I just wonder why it had to be you. Typical, your father leaves a mess and leaves us to clean it up," her mother ranted.

"Us, mom," Ava asked sharply, "You're the one off with your new boyfriend. I'm the one here," she pointed out leaning against the wall, while Michael had another therapy session with Loomis, just before dinnertime.

"Don't you dare get fresh with me, young lady," Lana spat at her, "Your father was barely even there for you," she reminded her harshly, "And now you have to be the one to take care of his personal business, and his death. At least the only good thing he did was leave you with something," she grumbled.

Ava felt herself recoil at those words, "Okay first of all it was a small inheritance, not a million dollars," she felt herself getting angry at the older woman, "And second of all, most of dad's family is gone, other than us, he had no one, if you remember. His parents died, most of his family is dead too. Someone had to take care of him," she felt herself close to shouting, but refrained from it.

"Your bleeding heart is something you get from your nana, it was my fault for dumping you on her so many times," Lana griped.

Ava closed her eyes at that, "Yeah it's such a shame I didn't turn out like you or dad," she said sarcastically.

"What'd I just say," Lana snapped angrily, "Watch it," she warned her.

Ava sighed, "Okay, sorry, sorry," she mumbled.

She could hear Lana give a sharp intake, "Look honey, you get your sass from me, and I can forgive that," she said, "But I don't like any of this. It's like your father's taunting you from the grave," she sighed, "Which is just like him," she grumbled to herself.

Ava ran a hand through her hair, "That's not it mom…dad was just…," she felt at loss for words when describing her father, but her thoughts were interrupted when she saw the doorknob turn, "Listen I'll call you tonight and if not, I'll text you," she said, "I love you," she said.

She heard Lana agree, "Alright, we'll talk more about this later, and about this good deed for the mental patients," she said without missing a beat. Just like her mom to talk with no complexes, "Love you, sweetheart, take care, talk later," Lana said then she hung up. The 20 year old woman sighed again then hung up, and tucked her phone away; her mother even after 20 years was still a piece of work. She's always been that way since she was a teenager.

With the door opening, Dr. Loomis walked out of the white room, "I'm going to get some coffee, you can come in now," he said to her.

The young woman nodded, "Okay," she said quietly, and walked into the room, "Hi, Michael, was the session okay?" Ava asked him as she went to quietly take her seat.

She was, as always met with silence, but really she had grown accustomed to it – in fact, even downright comfortable, for her. Honestly Ava preferred the quiet, over someone chatty and talkative, mostly right now because she needed it.

Her mom and her friend already talked her ear off, and she wasn't a fan of anyone's voice right now.

'My social skills and life,' she mused to herself, 'that I feel more comfortable around a mental patient. What is wrong with me…?'

Ava slowly shook her head, then looked up and noticed Michael actually staring at her and subtly and faintly cocking his head to the side.

She managed a smile, feeling amused at the gesture – it was like watching a child.

"Sorry, I'm in a mood. I was just talking with my mom over the phone. It didn't go well. I don't mean to take it out on you, or bore you to death with my problems," Ava explained not, really sure why she was doing that. Maybe she needed someone to vent to. No, that was the last thing she wanted, was someone poking into her personal life. It was one of the reasons why her mom left her dad; marrying a psychiatrist was pretty much a guarantee that they would be shrinking you and psychoanalyzing you.

Michael just stared at her and cocked his head to the other side this time almost inquisitively.

Well, he was no brick wall, but Ava was sure any girl wouldn't mind having a guy like Michael around if all he did was just sit there and listen.

Ava looked up at him and felt a smile curve at the corners of her lips, "Michael you'd make some girl very happy one day," she remarked in amusement.

Michael just continued to stare at her; she wondered if he could understand jokes.

"That's a joke. Sometimes friends make jokes. I just thought I'd make you laugh," the brunette explained herself, "I guess I need to work on my standup, cause that must have been a bad one," she chuckled to herself.

Now she just felt completely out of place – she wasn't a psychiatrist, that wasn't even her area of expertise, or her major, she did not belong here. So why was she here?

"Because you're a good person Ava," her grandma's voice chided to her inside her head, "Everyone needs help." That was true, Ava surmised; she was studying to be a social worker, and that meant working with all kinds of people, of all ages, mentally or physically handicapped. It was because of her grandma, she wanted to help people, and make their lives better.

She looked down at her lap at that, and felt her eyes sting and reached up her hand, quickly wiping at her eyes. Willing herself to look up at him, "You wanna play a game," she asked him.

They should have some board games around for them to play maybe.

Ava glanced down at his handcuffed arms, "Or I can just teach you how to play or show you," she offered. Honestly she wasn't sure what she was doing anymore.

To her luck, Ismael came in, "Time to eat Mikey," he announced.

The young woman smiled at them both, "I'll show you later, and we can play the next time after that," she assured him as Ismael came to undo the chains cuffing him to the chair to lead him out.

Ismael gave her a crooked smile and nodded, "We'll play together. I'll play for you Mikey it can be boys against girl," he chuckled and led him away.

Ava laughed, "Doesn't seem fair," she joked back, making Ismael laugh as he led Michael away. It still surprised her that Ismael was allowed to call Michael, Mikey without getting some kind of fight.

But then Ismael's taken care of Michael since he was a kid, from what she gathered. And he seemed to be the only other one that Michael seemed to listen to, or calm down.

Maybe, during their sessions, Ava should have Ismael with them; if Loomis was looking for a way to reach Michael, would be nothing short of a miracle, then all the necessary factors in his life needed to be present. Ava would need to talk to Ismael, and Dr. Loomis about this as well. Like Loomis said, it was unlikely Michael would ever get out, but at the least he would be able to articulate and communicate somehow. During the days, Ava had been at the asylum, she's been able to thumb through his files, to say she was a little disturbed, was an understatement. Murdering his sister, his sister's boyfriend, and then his stepfather, then there was also a body of a young pre-teen boy found outside of the school, in the wooded area, and it was speculation that Michael had murdered him too. The only ones he spared were his baby sister, and mother. They were lucky at least, Deborah Myers was at work, that night, and the little sister was only a baby. She wondered if she should bring it up with him or if that was an area she should not breech. Shrugging this thought off she decided to go get a bite to eat, then retire early tonight, this was too much to dwell on today.

Overall, she just wanted to finish this early, not out of any displeasure towards Michael, but because this place scared her – the last time she had been here she was only 6.

For the life of her, she couldn't remember why, but after the last visit, Ava never wanted to come back to Smith's Grove.

And now she was back here again, after so many years.

The cafeteria wasn't as crowded once she reached it, so no line thankfully. Michael was sitting in his favorite and preferred spot, sipping a beverage through a straw; good thing that mask of his had a hole for his mouth.

Ismael wasn't standing too far off, watching him. Ava smiled and nodded at him then grabbed a plate of mac and cheese and a soda. "I'm gonna turn in early tonight. Goodnight Ismael," she called out then glanced at Michael, "Goodnight Michael," she said softly and gave him a little smile, "Sleep well," she said.

She was met with silence but Michael did acknowledge her by stopping his sipping and glancing slowly over at her direction.

"See you in the morning," Ava said gently.

Michael was still staring at her so she gave him a parting nod and turned to walk out with her food. She would just eat there in her father's office and crash on the couch. The rest of the night passed by in a blur, and after eating, all Ava wanted to do was sleep, in fact she fell asleep as soon as she laid her head down curling under the blanket, on the makeshift bed she made from the sofa.

 _She felt like she was lost, and all she wanted now was her daddy, but he was always so busy. All Ava wanted to do was to spend some time with him and maybe have him take her outside and play hide and seek with her._

 _But this place was so big, and she didn't know where she was going. Her tummy was grumbling, and she was starting to get hungry. Ava found herself walking around, hoping to find the cafeteria to get herself a snack, maybe she could have something sweet for dinner~_

 _She opened any door she came across to see if it was the right one, and soon came upon a blinding white room, and there was only one person inside; a figure with blond hair and a weird mask on._

" _Hi," Ava greeted him remembering her manners, "I'm Ava, d'you wanna play," she asked him._

 _The figure stared at her, until she heard a sharp shout of her name, "Ava! Come here now," that was her daddy, "Get away from him!"_

 _She did as he said only to run into something hard._

Ava jerked away and looked around. She didn't know what that was but dismissed the feeling of dejavu. She couldn't fall asleep for the rest of the night, mostly tossing and turning. It seemed even from the grave her father couldn't leave her in peace – maybe her mom was right about agreeing to this…

The next morning passed by and it all fell into routine, Ava waited for Dr. Loomis to finish with Michael and then she would come in and sit with him, make some small talk, well, at least she would, or just remain quiet, both of which she was comfortable with.

Sometimes she would bring some paper or crayons (Loomis and security made it a point to keep anything too sharp away from him), and they would just draw or color, or he would, as she'd hand him one crayon after another. Up close and personal, she got to see just how big his hand was compared to hers, it could almost crush it actually.

"You know your masks are really good," Ava remarked one day as they colored, "You should make me one sometime," she commented as she gave him a brief smile.

Michael's hand stopped moving he was still staring down at his paper but continued coloring after a long pause, and so did Ava, seeing this as a cue, "I could bring you some materials and newspapers to work with, some more art supplies and paints," she offered, "Maybe we can have an arts and crafts day," she said again smiling.

Once again his hand stopped at that and this time he looked up at Ava, who met his gaze or tried to, from behind that thick long hair and mask, "You know," she said softly, "I'm sure we can make something other than masks," she said wondering how to broach this next topic. "I'd like to see your face," Ava decided to come out and say it.

His entire body tensed up and she quickly realized her mistake, "Only if you want to, I just thought that…since we're friends, you…wouldn't be afraid to show me your face."

He continued to stare her down, and Ava took a deep breath, "Whenever you're ready. There's no pressure," she said gently, hoping to get him to relax, then moved to pull out another crayon and hand it over to him, "I'm sorry Michael," she murmured.

The larger man gazed at her then surprised her by reaching out and grabbing the crayon from her fingers and going back to coloring.

And the rest of the following days went on the same way – with Michael wanting her close but keeping a respectful distance from her, and Loomis was the first to notice it, but then so did Ismael.

"He's been through a lot, but I guess he's so hard to reach now cause of me," Ismael remarked one day as they grabbed a morning coffee, "I told him that you gotta learn to live inside your own head," the older man sighed running a hand along his brow, "He's been that way ever since he killed that nurse…"

Ava let that information sink in, as she wondered what to do next but that was soon disrupted when Loomis had called her into his office that very same evening, "What can I do for you Dr. Loomis," she asked him closing the door behind her.

"Honestly Ava, I'm disappointed at the lack of progress," Dr. Loomis declared, "I thought that by now you would be able to reach him

"With all due respect, Dr. Loomis, if you want to make any kind of progress with Michael, or for me to make any kind of progress with him, that'll mean loosening some restrictions," Ava protested, "Like letting us be alone for a while, or taking walks outside," she listed on, "And maybe I can try and get him to trust me," she finished. Maybe, just maybe she would be able to earn his trust enough for him to show his face to her.

"I can't do that it would go against regulations and safety, not to mention yours," Loomis argued with her, "I won't take that risk again," he snapped.

"Again. Like you did with that nurse," Ava asked, feeling her voice grow in volume, "Did it ever occur to you that maybe Michael felt slighted or resentful in someway over his treatment of people here? I'm not approving of what he's done, but he was a child, and child killers need to be handled differently," Ava argued, "I know I may not be qualified especially in an area like this, but…he might respond to something different," she stated.

"Like what," Loomis asked her.

Ava took a deep breath, "Like trust…he knows he's being watched daily, and that might take a toll on him, and he can sense some kind of pressure," she murmured, "Just for a day, let me sit outside with him, and I'll have something on me as a precaution," she reassured him.

"And this is for the sake of earning trust," he asked her.

She nodded, "If I'm right then his mental growth is stunted, and it will take the right kind of approach to earn his trust and drop his guard."

And maybe seeing the real Michael Myers behind the paper mache masks.


End file.
